iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Day 228 of game dev 2/2 A real lighthouse beam is horizontal, but in a visual space, if it looks right, it works. So I tilted the beam to keep it away from the camera lol I made horizontal and tilted versions and decided to use them depending on the scene. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 3h

Day 228 of game dev 1/2 For the past few days, I've been working on the lighthouse beam. I made a long tube-shaped object glow and rotate, but culling caused the front of it to break apart, which was a problem. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Day 227 of game dev 2/2 This is the kind of thing I'd normally walk right past when I'm just playing a game! From now on, every time I play a game, I'm gonna stop wherever the light hits and just stare at how it behaves... lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Day 227 of game dev 1/2 Lighting looks so simple, but it's surprisingly hard... When I start messing around with Shader Graph, a day or two can easily disappear before I know it. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Day 226 of game dev YEAHHHH!!🍣🍣🍣🍣🍣 I finally got the thing I've been aiming for working! I've been trying different ways to make it work for about a month! I burst out laughing every time it triggers! I'm so happy!!🍺🎉 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Day 226 of game dev Previously: Trying again to crack this thing I just couldn't get working no matter how many times I tried. This time: AAAAAH I'M SO CLOSEーーーー!! I seriously think this might work this timeーーー!!! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Day 225 of game dev 3/3 I've lost count of how many times I've tried different approaches, but I feel like this design might actually work! ...and here I am, trying again. This time...! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Day 225 of game dev 2/3 I know it's important to give up at some point, but then I go full Optimus Prime with "I've got an idea," try again, and it all goes spectacularly up in flames every time lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Day 225 of game dev 1/3 There's one thing I want to implement, but I just can't figure out a good way to design it. I keep thinking, "Maybe this could work!" and going back to try again, but nothing's worked so far. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

Day 225 of game dev That's 400 pieces of sushi I've made so far! The game's really starting to take shape. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Day 224 of game dev I had this working properly, but now the character slides into bed after the screen fades back in... It's pretty funny, and I kinda want to keep it, but I can't get away with that lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Day 224 of game dev Whoosh! ====(¦3[▓▓] Me every day lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Day 223 of game dev 4/4 I spent the past two days making a heat haze effect in Shader Graph. Got it looking right and put it in the game, but it made me wanna barf! lol🤮 So I ended up having to remove it! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Day 223 of game dev 3/4 I know moving camera shots and flashy effects look cool, but thinking about all that just makes me not want to add them... #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Day 223 of game dev 2/4 Learning 3D was rough! Spinning objects around while sculpting would give me such bad 3D motion sickness that I'd end up pale as a ghost and stuck in bed for the rest of the day! lol🤢 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

Day 223 of game dev 1/4 Hmm, how far should I go with effects and lighting... My sense of balance is way too sensitive, and there are quite a few games I can't play because of motion sickness. So I guess that's why I think about it so much. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev Shader Graph is seriously hard... lol Hahaha! I've been working on just this since yesterday, but I can't get it to work the way I want at all, and now I'm just laughing! I'm getting weirdly hyper! lol🤪🎉 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 8/8 Then, once I've made the whole game from start to finish, I can go back to the beginning and add one more thing to each map. I think I was thinking too rigidly about "developing as I go." I realized it's okay to be more flexible about it.🍣 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 7/8 Instead of trying to put 10 things into Map 1 from the start, it's fine if Map 1 has just one. Then I can put one of the other 9 into Map 2 and move forward. One in Map 3, one in Map 4... That way, I can make it all the way to Map 10. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 6/8 Then I realized I'd been putting way more pressure on myself than I thought. Ohhh. I can make it smaller! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 5/8 Luckily, Steam lets me show the game while I'm still developing it, so I can add more depth to the game later. So I thought maybe I should cut down some of the things I'd planned for the first half and focus on getting through the whole game first. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 4/8 When I think about how hard it is to implement just one thing, I realized maybe it's not "there's only one." Maybe it's "there IS one." Maybe I should be thinking, "Whoa, I made one!" #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 3/8 One thing I've realized from making this game so far is that making even one thing work is REALLY hard. I knew it would probably be hard, but it was way harder than I ever imagined. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 2/8 On top of that, I'm a beginner at making games in Unity, so I didn't really understand the whole process, and I felt like development was going really slowly. So I stopped for a bit and looked back at the whole process I'd gone through once. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Day 222 of game dev 1/8 This is a long story, so I'll put it all in one thread. I originally spent a few months making this game in 2D, then switched to 3D partway through, so all that time is included in the development time. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Day 221 of game dev When I'm implementing something and need to watch time pass to make sure it's working, I suddenly really want to blink... lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Day 221 of game dev Three typhoons have formed and are heading this way... The air pressure is so bad, my head's spinning and I'm starting to lose track of what I'm even making!🤪🌀🌀🌀 I'm scared I'm gonna mess something up! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Day 220 of game dev RPGs need so much stuff, even choosing assets takes forever... That's finally settled, so now I'm adding a time system! Day and night are finally going to start cycling! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Day 219 of game dev 2/2 I don't want to make the screen hard to see, but it doesn't feel tropical without that "IT'S SO DAMN HOT!" sunlight. I found a good middle ground, and I can use this on other maps too, right? Yesss!🌞🍣 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Day 219 of game dev 1/2 I'm still experimenting with the tropical lighting. I decided to put in a little extra work and make a Shader Graph for it. Looking good! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Day 218 of game dev If I focus on that tropical sunlight, everything gets blown out... If I focus on the shadows, they're too dark... If I try to make the ocean look clear, the greens look weird... ...AAAAAH...🫠 #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Day 218 of game dev I'm still working on the ambient lighting settings. I love tropical islands way too much, so I keep fussing over the light, shadows, and colors. I just can't call it done and keep going back to tweak things! lol #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Day 217 of game dev 2/2 So I can't spend too long searching for sounds or setting them up. I'll keep things rough and rely on tools for the rest. Que sera, sera. Same as always. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Day 217 of game dev 1/2 I have issues with my ears, and sometimes I need to wear earmuffs just to get through the day. Yesterday, with a typhoon approaching, I worked on the sound for a few hours, but got dizzy and ended up spending the whole day in bed. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Day 216 of game dev 3/3 I've finished one of the maps, so I've started working on the ambient lighting. That also means adding environmental sounds, so now I need to think about audio too. Whoa, it's finally time for sound. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Day 216 of game dev 2/3 I thought the checks only involved the ground, but they also affect what happens underwater. How many days have I spent on just this? I added it as a joke, but it's no joke anymore lol. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Day 216 of game dev 1/3 I finally finished tweaking the falling mechanics. Falling affects all kinds of things, so this turned out to be way more work than I expected. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Day 215 of game dev 2/2 After adding tons of ridiculously huge coral for that fantasy feel, I figured grass would be fine too, so I planted tons of it. My island was smooth like pudding, but now it's covered in matcha powder and looks delicious! Matcha pudding! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Day 215 of game dev 1/2 Using the method I was taught, I managed to place 546 objects on the seafloor! And there's barely any performance impact! I'm really grateful! #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Oh! Of course I meant it in a good way! lol I think it's wonderful how all these memories become part of the game. Even when I'm quietly working on it by myself every day, seeing that bit of code can remind me of someone.😁✨

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm a solo dev, but there are little pieces throughout the game that came from things people have taught me, so it's starting to feel like I'm not making it all by myself lol.😆 Thank you! I'll keep at it!

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yep! That's exactly what I ended up doing! The seafloor is split into chunks, and only the chunks/batches inside the camera frustum are rendered. Your advice helped a ton. Thank you!!🍣🍣🍣😆🍺

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I came back to say thank you! I successfully turned 546 underwater objects into chunks. Even with this many placed around the island, I can now walk around with almost no performance issues. Thank you so much!😆🍣

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Day 214 of game dev 4/4 But what moves me most is that they're giving up their own time for me. I'm moved by the act itself—giving to others without asking for anything in return. I've felt that strongly in overseas game dev communities these past six months. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Day 214 of game dev 3/4 Kind people on social media teach me things like that, so I'm often moved when I realize, "Oh, I can connect this and that!" That's also part of why I'm so often moved lol. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Day 214 of game dev 2/4 I've taught myself everything to get this far, but I learned by thinking, "What do I need to do to achieve A?" So I'm not very good at thinking from the opposite direction, like, "You can achieve A using this method." #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Day 214 of game dev 1/4 I'm studying a method that someone who shared their techniques on social media taught me. When I'm trying to understand something I don't know, it feels like I'm pushing through jungle trees, making my way between the folds of my brain lol. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Day 213 of game dev 3/3 It looks like such a simple sequence, but I didn't know there was so much going on behind the scenes to make it work. Now that I'm making a game myself, I'm realizing just how much of the work goes into things you never see. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Day 213 of game dev 2/3 There's the floor and bed, so I need different respawn heights. The characters are different heights too, so I have to adjust where they lie down. And there are lots of characters, so setting up the same Animation for everyone is a lot of work. #indiedev

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ninza 🍣 @ninspi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Day 213 of game dev 1/3 I'm working on the process of returning to the inn after HP reaches 0. It's just fading to black, moving the character, and waking up, but it's more complicated than I expected. #indiedev

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